Fairytale
by Beeria
Summary: She had the looks and grace of a princess. But he was no prince, the other boys had made sure to drill that message into him. [Cloud x Aerith, a twist on Cloud's childhood]


This idea came to me while in one of the forums here. Tifa treated Cloud horribly in their childhood and I thought, if it was Aerith, would she have done the same? I don't think she would have...and so...ta-da!

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or places. No profit is being made.

**Fairytale**

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_"Mom?"_

_"Yes Cloud?" his mother replied, placing the book on his bedside table. His eyes was closed and his voice thick with sleep._

_"Do the princes always get the princesses?" he asked. She smiled and ran her hands through his hair lovingly._

_"Yes."_

* * *

He watched them from his bedroom window, a look of longing on his face. His mother often asked why he didn't just go and play with them but he never answered. What was he supposed to say? Was he supposed to admit that the boys ridiculed him every time he went near him. 

She never did though. She would peer around him and give him a small apologetic smile as she attempted to squeeze past. The boys always formed a tight circle around her, as if protecting her from unworthy eyes. In other words, protecting her from him. They knew how he felt about her, it was the same affection all the boys held for her. She had the looks and grace of a princess.

And he was no prince. They had made sure to drill that into him enough. He wasn't good enough for her. He had stopped glancing at her in public despite how much he longed to drink in her beauty. If he had dared to look, he would have seen her staring at him with a confused sadness burning in her eyes.

Below him, the boys laughed and he was sure he caught his name in there somewhere. They were laughing about his fighting skills and calling his mother words that should never fall from a child's mouth. He lowered his head in shame as the words burned through his mind.

"Don't talk about him like that!"

His head snapped up in surprise at hearing her, her of all people, defending him. He watched as she turned on her heel and stomped away from them making her way towards the well. The boys remained silent, too stunned to speak.

She climbed up to the top platform, sitting on the edge and turning her head towards the sky. He watched her, transfixed by her beauty. Suddenly, she turned her head in his direction and met his eyes. She grinned and waved cheerfully. He immediately snapped the curtains back and stepped away, his cheeks flushed.

All day she remained there, ignoring the boys whenever they came to speak to her. As night began to fall, Cloud could still see her outline sitting on the edge of the well. Her admirers had long left for home and yet, she stayed.

"Talk to her," his mother said forcefully but he ignored her. What would he say? What would he do? He wasn't good enough for her. His mother wasn't going to take no for an answer and dragged him to the door, shoving him outside into the cool evening air. He swallowed thickly and glanced towards her nervously.

"Hello," she greeted, her soft voice travelling down to him. He was thankful that it was dark otherwise she would have seen his flushed cheeks. "Aren't you going to join me?" she asked suddenly. He blinked. She was asking _him_ to sit with her?

He took a small step forward and then another until he was standing amongst the flowers that surrounded the well. She was staring at the stars, a look of contentment on her face as her legs swung idly. He reached up to the wooden pillars and hauled himself up on to the first platform. It didn't take long for him to reach the top but when he actually got there, he wasn't sure what to do next.

She answered for him, patting the ground beside her in invitation. Cloud shifted his feet nervously before taking a step towards her. But the rotting wood collapsed beneath him. She barely had time to turn and investigate the noise before he was falling to the ground.

He landed in the flowers with a thump and pained groan. As he opened his eyes, he saw Aerith peering down at him through the hole in the platform. She stood quickly and made her way down, jumping off the last platform to land beside him.

Tenderly, she reached forward and brushed his hair from his face so she could look at the wound on his temple. She wiped the blood away gently, letting her hand remain on his cheek for a moment more than was necessary. Not that Cloud was going to complain.

"You're lucky," she whispered. "The flowerbed must have broken your fall."

He looked up at her, taking in her form that was illuminated by the pale moonlight. Her eyes were full of concern, a small crease between her brows. But she was still beautiful. He sat up slowly, trying not to think of how close he was to her and yet, still not allowed to be hers.

"Thanks," he muttered, pushing himself into a standing position. She stood up immediately after, holding out a hand to grab his arm.

"Are you sure you shouldn't rest for a while?" she asked, moving to stand in front of him. She clasped her hands behind her back and leaned in towards him. "Don't want to overdo it, do you?"

He blushed at the close contact and tried to take a step back. Yet, every time he did, she moved forward. She tilted her head to the side thoughtfully. "This didn't go quite to plan," she muttered.

"Huh?" he replied in confusion. He saw her shake her head in the darkness and giggle softly.

"I wanted you to come to the well because I needed to tell you something," she whispered. Cloud remained silent, his heart hammering against his chest at her words. What would she talk to him about? What did he have to offer her?

"What would someone like you have to say to someone like me?" His words had come out harsher than he had intended and he saw her blink at him.

"Someone like you?" she repeated. "What do you mean?"

"I'm not like the other boys," he elaborated. She was silent for a moment.

"No," she sighed. "You're not."

He looked to the ground, trying to push the pain of rejection from his chest. She had admitted it herself. He wasn't as good as the others, he wasn't as strong. He wasn't worthy to win her heart. It had been drilled into him for years but he had always held on to his mother's stupid fairytales, believing that one day, he would win the princess. But they were just stories after all.

"That's why I like you," she said suddenly, snapping him from his thoughts. He looked directly into her eyes, those sparkling emerald eyes that held so many emotions were piercing his very soul.

"You...like me?" he choked, unable to believe that he had heard her right. He saw her nod and the next moment, he felt her lips press up against his. It lasted barely a second but it didn't matter to Cloud. She had kissed him!

"We should go home." She gently took his hand and led the way back to his house. She explained to his mother that it was her fault he had fallen and he shouldn't have been on the well in the first place before waving goodbye cheerfully to Cloud. He smiled softly, watching her disappear into her house.

And he thought, maybe fairytales are real after all.

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End file.
